How to become a flight attendant

To be a flight attendant, you must complete training and certification to ensure you can be responsible for passengers’ safety and comfort. The path to becoming a flight attendant is fairly straightforward and includes the following steps:

  1. Get a high school diploma. The minimum education requirement for flight attendants is a high school diploma.
  2. Earn a college degree. While most airlines will hire flight attendants without degrees, an associate or bachelor’s degree in a field such as public relations could make you more attractive to employers.
  3. Build customer service skills. Work for a year or two in a hospitality or service job to develop your customer service skills. This experience will look good on your resume when applying for flight attendant jobs. You might work at a restaurant, hotel or in any role that requires interacting with people.
  4. Apply for a job. If you are over age 18 and have good health and vision, you can apply for flight attendant positions with various airlines.
  5. Train. If an airline hires you, you will spend several weeks or months in training to prepare for FAA certification. Training courses include safety, first aid, responding to challenging flight or passenger situations, evacuation, putting out fires, survival skills, self-defense and personal health, among others. 
  6. Get certified. After you have completed initial training, you must pass the FAA’s exam to become certified and legally allowed to work as a flight attendant.
  7. Complete reserve status. New flight attendants start on reserve status. During this time, you must be on call to fill in for other flight attendants or extra flights. This reserve period typically lasts one year.
  8. Advance in your career. After you gain years of experience as a flight attendant, you will likely have the seniority to choose your base, routes and schedule. You might also mentor, recruit, train or manage other flight attendants and help with tasks such as scheduling. 

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